Holding needle comprising gripping cheeks

ABSTRACT

A take-off needle comprises a hollow lance having a distal end adapted to perform a insertion operation, said hollow lance being connected to at least one pipe provided with a spigot for it to be connected to a tube, and comprising a body for holding the hollow lance and pipe relative to each other such that the spigot projects from the holding body, said needle further comprising two flanges held on respective sides of and spaced from the holding body by virtue of a spacer disposed between each flange and the holding body, said flanges extending in a longitudinal direction from the spigot to the vicinity of the proximal end of the hollow lance, the width of each flange being greater than the width of the portion of the holding body facing the flanges.

The invention concerns the general field of take-off needles adapted tobe inserted or pricked through an elastic wall or septum in order totake off liquid contained in a container closed by the wall/septum.

The invention more particularly concerns such a take-off needle whichcomprises a hollow lance generally formed from a fine steel tubeprovided at its distal end with a sharp insertion tip and connected to apipe by its proximal end.

The tip is thus adapted to pass through said elastic wall to enable theliquid to flow in the hollow lance towards the pipe which comprises aspigot to which for example may be connected to a tube by which thetaken-off liquid will be collected, for example, in a container.

Such needles generally comprise a polymer holding body molded over theproximal end of the hollow lance, the holding body forming an internalchannel ensuring the flow of the liquid from the hollow lance to thespigot of the pipe. The holding body also enables the needle to bemanipulated, in particular during the insertion operation.

Such needles are for example used to take off liquid from a bottleclosed by a rubber bung. The spigot of the pipe is connected in advanceto a tube leading to a container. Next the needle is inserted into thebung such that the distal end passes through the bung and reaches themedium to be taken-off, the user holding the needle by its holding body.

The liquid to be taken off then flows to the container, for example bygravity or with the help of a peristaltic pump or else by thepressurization of the bottle containing the liquid.

Such needles may for example be referred to as “single” needles, that isto say that they only comprise a single hollow lance connected to justone pipe; or else they may be referred to as “double” needles, that isto say that they comprise a hollow lance of which the flow is dividedinto two at the holding body to go to two pipes for taking off theliquid simultaneously to two different containers.

These needles, whether single or double, may be vented, that is to saythat they comprise a second hollow lance, of smaller diameter than themain hollow lance, which is inserted in the main hollow lance. Thissecond hollow lance allows the progressive introduction of air into thebottle containing the liquid to be taken off as the liquid flows in themain hollow lance. Such a vented needle makes it possible to carry outtake-off operations from a fluid-tight bottle.

Such take-off needles are known which are provided to be manipulateddirectly by the holding body. Although the form of the holding body isdefined by its function, i.e. the connection of the hollow lance to thepipe, it may be grasped in the hand by the user to manipulate thetake-off needle, in particular to perform the insertion operation,without touching the hollow lance.

The holding body comprises a cylindrical body extending from the hollowlance and in line therewith. The spigot of the pipe is connected to thecylindrical body so as to project transversely or obliquely. Severalspigots may project from the cylindrical body.

The ergonomic quality of these needles is limited in that the hand ofthe user must adapt to the forms of the cylindrical body and of thespigot.

Other take-off needles are known which are adapted to be manipulated bytheir holding body, as set out above, and which further comprise a guardformed by a plate that is transverse to the cylindrical body of theholding body. The guard is disposed on the holding body in the vicinityof the junction between the cylindrical body and the hollow lance.During the insertion operation, the guard enables the fingers of theuser to be held clear of the hollow lance by a physical barrier.

In particular, during the insertion operation, the guard forms a gripfor the user's fingers which thereby avoid the risk of slipping onto thehollow lance.

The object of the invention is to improve this type of take-off needleby providing a needle which is more ergonomic.

To that end, the invention is directed to a take-off needle comprising ahollow lance having a distal end adapted to perform an insertionoperation, said hollow lance being connected to at least one pipeprovided with a spigot for it to be connected to a tube, and comprisinga body for holding the hollow lance and pipe relative to each other suchthat the spigot projects from the holding body, said needle beingcharacterized in that it further comprises two flanges held onrespective sides of and spaced from the holding body by virtue of aspacer disposed between each flange and the holding body, said flangesextending in a longitudinal direction from the spigot to the vicinity ofthe proximal end of the hollow lance, the width of each flange beinggreater than the width of the portion of the holding body facing theflanges.

In such a take-off needle, the holding body is, as it were, sandwichedbetween the two flanges. As these flange flanges transversely cover atleast a portion of the holding body, it is much simpler for the user'shand to grasp the needle by both flanges than by the holding body.

According to a preferred feature, each of the flanges also extendsbetween the spigot and the proximal end of the holding body, to bebetter held by the hand.

Each of the flanges may furthermore be arcuate so as to bowed towardsthe holding body.

The arcuate form of the flanges provides longitudinal centering of theuser's hand with respect to the holding body. The hand intuitivelylocates around the arcuate flanges and in the concave form which theydefine.

For the same reasons, each of the flanges may also have a transversecurvature so as to present a rounded surface.

The needle according to the invention may further comprise the followingadvantageous features, either alone or in combination:

each of the flanges comprises a transverse guard at its distal end;

the spigot projects from the holding body between the two flanges;

the needle comprises two spigots projecting on respective sides of theholding body such that each of them projects between the two flanges,the spigot or spigots being thereby protected by the flanges, forexample against the tubes connected to those spigots being accidentallypulled off;

the flanges are attached to the holding body via a shell the internalform of which mates with the external form of the holding body;

said shell comprises two half-shells each connected to one of theflanges;

said half-shells are identical and hermaphroditic.

The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a take-offneedle as presented above, said method comprising the following steps:

manufacturing an assembly comprising the holding body attached to thehollow lance and to the pipe;

mounting said half-shells onto the holding body.

Other features and advantages of the invention appear in the light ofthe following description of a preferred embodiment, given by way ofnon-limiting example, and made with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a double take-off needle according tothe invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a single take-off needle according tothe invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the assembly formed by the holding bodyprovided with its two flanges, of the take-off needle of FIG. 1 or FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view from the right of the assembly of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view on section line A-A of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a half-shell provided with a flange; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a take-off needle comprising a holdingbody onto which can be added two half-shells in accordance with that ofFIG. 8.

FIGS. 1 and 2 each represent a take-off needle in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 represents a double take-off needle comprising a main hollowlance 1 adapted for the passage of the liquid to take off, a ventinghollow lance 2 adapted to inject air into the container containing theliquid to be taken off, a holding body 3 defining an inner pipe whichdivides into two sub-pipes each provided with a spigot 4.

The liquid taken off flows in the main hollow lance 1 and is distributedby the spigots 4.

A tube may, for example, be connected to each of the spigots 4 in orderto collect the liquid taken off in two different containers.

As regards the venting hollow lance 2, this passes through the inside ofthe holding body 3 to connect to a venting filter 5 which in the presentexample enables sterile air to be injected by the venting hollow lance2.

This take-off needle further comprises two flanges 6 attached onrespective sides of the holding body 3.

FIG. 2 on the other hand shows a single take-off needle. This needlecomprises a single hollow lance 1′ adapted for taking off liquid anddoes not include any part for injecting air.

As with the needle of FIG. 1, the needle of FIG. 2 comprises a holdingbody 3′, two spigots 4′ connected by an internal pipe of the holdingbody 3′ to the hollow lance 1′, and two flanges 6′.

The assembly formed by the holding body 3, 3′, the spigots 4, 4′ and theflanges 6, 6′ is common to both embodiments of the take-off needlepresented here in FIGS. 1 and 2. This assembly is represented in FIGS. 3to 7 and will be described below using the numbering of the parts ofFIG. 1, it being understood that the assembly represented in FIGS. 3 to7 is also adapted to the embodiment of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are complementary perspective views to show thepositioning of the flanges 6 with respect to the holding body 3.

Each flange 6 is connected onto the holding body 3 via a spacer 7ensuring rigid fixing as well as spacing of the flanges 6 with respectto the holding body 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, each spacer 7 mates with the form of thecorresponding flange 6 and holding body 3 and fixes the flange 6 overpractically the entirety of the length of the body 3.

The spacing between the flange 6 and the holding body 3 is also visiblein FIG. 6 as well as on the cross-section in FIG. 7.

FIGS. 3 to 7, and more particularly FIG. 5, show that the flanges 6 arearcuate such that each of the flanges 6 is bowed towards the holdingbody 3. The flanges 6 consequently have a concave form with respect tothe exterior adapted to facilitate grasping of the flanges 6 by the handof the user.

The two flanges 6 are disposed on respective sides of the holding body 3such that each spigot 4 projects between the two flanges 6 (see FIGS. 5and 6).

With reference to FIG. 4 and FIGS. 6 and 7, each flange 6 furthermorehas a radius of transverse curvature forming an outwardly directedrounded form.

This characteristic of a transverse rounded form combines with thearcuate form of the flanges 6 to ensure the user can grasp the needlewell by the flanges 6.

Furthermore, FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show that the flanges 6 comprise a guard 8formed by a tab extending transversely of the corresponding flange 6.

The guard 8 provides a grip for the user's fingers during the insertionoperation.

As regards the width of the flanges 6, FIG. 6 shows that each flange 6has a width slightly greater than the maximum diameter of the holdingbody 3.

In the present example, the assembly of FIGS. 3 to 7 was produced withthe following dimensions:

-   -   minimum diameter of the holding body 3: approximately 7 mm    -   maximum diameter of the holding body 3: approximately 13 mm    -   thickness of the spacer 7: approximately 1 to 2 mm    -   length of the flanges 6: approximately 40 to 50 mm    -   minimum separation between the outer surfaces of the flanges 6        (in the proximity of the section line A-A of FIG. 5):        approximately 15 mm    -   radius of curvature of the arcuate form of the flanges 6:        approximately 70 to 80 mm    -   radius of curvature of the transverse rounded form of the        flanges 6:    -   approximately 15 to 20 mm    -   width of the flanges 6: approximately 15 mm.

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, an alternative embodiment of theinvention will now be described. The parts of the same nature as in theembodiments of FIGS. 1 to 7 will bear the same number in FIGS. 8 and 9followed by a “second” sign (″).

In this embodiment, the flanges 6″ are not directly fixed to the holdingbody 3″. More particularly they are each fixed to a half-shell 9 whichis then attached to the holding body 3″.

On producing such a needle, a first step consists of producing anassembly formed from a holding body 3″, provided with the hollow lances1″, 2″ and the spigots 4″ (see FIG. 9).

Two other parts each in accordance with FIG. 8 and identical to eachother are next produced. These parts each comprise a flange 6″.

With reference to FIG. 8, a flange 6″ similar to the one describedpreviously is fixed by a spacer 7″ to a half-shell 9 which ishermaphroditic in that it is a part comprising an axis of symmetry andcomprising pins 10 on one of the lateral edges and corresponding holes11 on the other of its lateral edges.

The internal volume of the half-shell 9 reproduces the exterior form ofthe holding body 3″ and of the spigots 4″.

Two parts in accordance with FIG. 8 may be assembled together, the pins10 of one entering the holes 11 of the other. This assembly is made onthe holding body 3″ such that the latter is trapped between the twohalf-shells 9.

Once the assembly has been completed, a take-off needle provided withtwo flanges 6″ rigidly attached to the holding body 3″ is produced.

Variant embodiments of the take-off needle may be envisaged withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, the hollowlances and the spigots may have a different configuration, it beingpossible for example for the needle to comprise only a single spigot.

1. A take-off needle comprising a hollow lance having a distal endadapted to perform a insertion operation, said hollow lance beingconnected to at least one pipe provided with a spigot for it to beconnected to a tube, a body for holding the hollow lance and piperelative to each other such that the spigot projects from the holdingbody, two flanges held on respective sides of and spaced from theholding body by virtue of a spacer disposed between each flange and theholding body, said flanges extending in a longitudinal direction fromthe spigot to the vicinity of the proximal end of the hollow lance, thewidth of each flange being greater than the width of the portion of theholding body facing the flanges.
 2. The take-off needle according toclaim 1 wherein each of the flanges also extends between the spigot andthe proximal end of the holding body.
 3. The take-off needle accordingto claim 1, wherein each of the flanges is arcuate so as to be bowedtowards the holding body.
 4. The take-off needle according to claim 1wherein each of the flanges has a transverse curvature so as to presenta rounded surface.
 5. The take-off needle according to claim 1 whereineach of the flanges has a transverse guard at its distal end.
 6. Thetake-off needle according to claim 1 wherein the spigot projects fromthe holding body between the two flanges.
 7. The take-off needleaccording to claim 1 wherein two spigots project from respective sidesof the holding body such that each of the spigots projects between thetwo flanges.
 8. The take-off needle according to claim 1 wherein theflanges are attached to the holding body via a shell, the internal formof which mates with the external form of the holding body.
 9. Thetake-off needle according to claim 1 wherein the flanges are attached tothe holding body via a shell, the internal form of which mates with theexternal form of the holding body, said shell is formed of twohalf-shells and each half shell is connected to one of the flanges. 10.The take-off needle according to claim 1 wherein the flanges areattached to the holding body via a shell, the internal form of whichmates with the external form of the holding body, said shell is formedof two half-shells each connected to one of the flanges and saidhalf-shells are identical and hermaphroditic.
 11. A take-off needlecomprising a hollow lance having a distal end adapted to perform ainsertion operation, said hollow lance being connected to at least onepipe provided with a spigot for it to be connected to a tube, a body forholding the hollow lance and pipe relative to each other such that thespigot projects from the holding body, two flanges held on respectivesides of and spaced from the holding body by virtue of a spacer disposedbetween each flange and the holding body, said flanges extending in alongitudinal direction from the spigot to the vicinity of the proximalend of the hollow lance, the width of each flange being greater than thewidth of the portion of the holding body facing the flanges, each of theflanges is arcuate so as to be bowed towards the holding body, each ofthe flanges has a transverse curvature so as to present a roundedsurface and each of the flanges has a transverse guard at its distalend.
 12. A take-off needle comprising a hollow lance having a distal endadapted to perform a insertion operation, said hollow lance beingconnected to at least one pipe provided with a spigot for it to beconnected to a tube, a body for holding the hollow lance and piperelative to each other such that the spigot projects from the holdingbody, two flanges held on respective sides of and spaced from theholding body by virtue of a spacer disposed between each flange and theholding body, said flanges extending in a longitudinal direction fromthe spigot to the vicinity of the proximal end of the hollow lance, thewidth of each flange being greater than the width of the portion of theholding body facing the flanges, wherein the flanges are attached to theholding body via a shell, the internal form of which mates with theexternal form of the holding body, said shell is formed of twohalf-shells, each half shell being connected to one of the flanges andsaid half-shells are identical and hermaphroditic.
 13. A method ofmanufacturing a take-off needle comprising the steps: manufacturing anassembly comprising the holding body attached to the hollow lance and tothe spigot; forming two half shells the internal form of which mateswith the external form of the holding body; and mounting saidhalf-shells onto the holding body.